Synthetic Minds, the San Fransisco based smart contract security startup, has managed to secure $5.5 million in backing for its technology which aims to bug test blockchain networks.

The company claims that this round of funding was supported by Pantera Capital (a blockchain investment fund) and startup VC company Khosla Ventures.

Synthetic Minds’ initial tech was incubated during Y Combinator’s summer program last year. The goal of their tool is to allow developers to work on the more abstract design elements of blockchain while the software automatically detects and optimises bugs in the network’s coding.

Synthetic Minds, the San Fransisco based smart contract security startup, has managed to secure $5.5 million in backing for its technology which aims to bug test blockchain networks. The company claims that this round of funding was supported by Pantera Capital (a...

Bitmain, the giants of Bitcoin mining hardware, have officially released a software update to it's Antminer s9 range, allowing its users to mine Bitcoin in a more efficient manner. Their newly released firmware update will engage "overt AsicBoost" bringing a...

Following an intervention by the Australia Securities Investment Commission (ASIC), Brisbane based project Global Tech Exchange announced on its website today that they have had to cease their token sale. Global Tech Exchange had aimed to raise between 10 and 50...

Bitmain, the giants of Bitcoin mining hardware, have officially released a software update to it’s Antminer s9 range, allowing its users to mine Bitcoin in a more efficient manner.

Their newly released firmware update will engage “overt AsicBoost” bringing a significant speed boost to its mining devices.

Bitmain claims that this step will increase Bitcoin network’s hash rate while at the same time minimising the energy footprint of the mining process.

The move is not without controversy, however, as in the past many core developers in the Bitcoin community have claimed that mining devices using the AsicBoost function essentially exploit a flaw in the networks proof-of-work algo, allowing an unfair 20% increase of efficiency – something which they argue could harm the network as a whole.

Synthetic Minds, the San Fransisco based smart contract security startup, has managed to secure $5.5 million in backing for its technology which aims to bug test blockchain networks. The company claims that this round of funding was supported by Pantera Capital (a...

Bitmain, the giants of Bitcoin mining hardware, have officially released a software update to it's Antminer s9 range, allowing its users to mine Bitcoin in a more efficient manner. Their newly released firmware update will engage "overt AsicBoost" bringing a...

Following an intervention by the Australia Securities Investment Commission (ASIC), Brisbane based project Global Tech Exchange announced on its website today that they have had to cease their token sale. Global Tech Exchange had aimed to raise between 10 and 50...

Following an intervention by the Australia Securities Investment Commission (ASIC), Brisbane based project Global Tech Exchange announced on its website today that they have had to cease their token sale.

Global Tech Exchange had aimed to raise between 10 and 50 million $USD to kickstart the creation of their crypto trading platform. The token sale began on 12th September and was planning to run until 10th December. Right now it’s unclear how much the company had raised to date, but what is clear is that they have been forced by ASIC to issue refunds to investors.

Michael Clarke, a Cricket celeb in Australia, had originally endorsed the company and announced his involvement in the project back on August 8th, but has been distanced by Global Tech in their statement issued today.

Synthetic Minds, the San Fransisco based smart contract security startup, has managed to secure $5.5 million in backing for its technology which aims to bug test blockchain networks. The company claims that this round of funding was supported by Pantera Capital (a...

Bitmain, the giants of Bitcoin mining hardware, have officially released a software update to it's Antminer s9 range, allowing its users to mine Bitcoin in a more efficient manner. Their newly released firmware update will engage "overt AsicBoost" bringing a...

Following an intervention by the Australia Securities Investment Commission (ASIC), Brisbane based project Global Tech Exchange announced on its website today that they have had to cease their token sale. Global Tech Exchange had aimed to raise between 10 and 50...

The Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group (SMSG), an organisation that advises the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has made the recommendation (in this report dated October 19th 2018) that the majority of cryptocurrencies and tokens from ICO sales should be regulated under existing EU financial rules.

In an effort to contain the risks of ICOs and crypto assets in general, the SMSG makes the point that as the major cryptocurrencies (including Bitcoin) are increasingly handled as investment vehicles, they should be considered as sharing the same risks as assets in the capital markets.

The recommendation has therefore been made that such crypto assets should fall within the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) regulations which came into effect in January of this year.

The SMSG advises the ESMA to aim for supervisory convergence of the following five issues:

(i) the interpretation of the MIFID definition of “transferable securities”, and clarify whether transferable asset tokens which have features typical of transferable securities (see IV.2.c, situations 1, 2 and 4.1) are subject to MiFID II and the Prospectus Regulation;

(ii) the interpretation of the MiFID definition of “commodities”, since that concept is crucial to determine whether an asset token with features typical of a derivative is a MiFID financial instrument or not (see IV.2.c, situation 4.2.2)

(iii) the interpretation of the MTF and OTF concepts, clarifying whether the organisation of a secondary market in asset tokens which qualify as MiFID financial instruments is indeed an MTF or an OTF (see IV.2.c, situations 1, 2, 4.1 and 4.2.2.2);

(iv) the fact that when issuers of asset tokens are to be considered to organize an MTF or an OTF in accordance with the above, the MAR applies to such MTFs and OTFs.

(v) the fact that in all situations where an asset token is to be considered a MiFID financial instrument, persons giving investment advice on those asset tokens or executing orders in those asset tokens, are to be considered investment firms, which should have a licence as such, unless they qualify for an exemption under MiFID II.

In their report’s second annex the SMSG has made the case for regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs to be maintained as a way for innovative crypto/fintech firms to interact with regulators, helping them to navigate between countries as they aim to scale new ideas.

Synthetic Minds, the San Fransisco based smart contract security startup, has managed to secure $5.5 million in backing for its technology which aims to bug test blockchain networks. The company claims that this round of funding was supported by Pantera Capital (a...

Bitmain, the giants of Bitcoin mining hardware, have officially released a software update to it's Antminer s9 range, allowing its users to mine Bitcoin in a more efficient manner. Their newly released firmware update will engage "overt AsicBoost" bringing a...

Following an intervention by the Australia Securities Investment Commission (ASIC), Brisbane based project Global Tech Exchange announced on its website today that they have had to cease their token sale. Global Tech Exchange had aimed to raise between 10 and 50...